Svalbard-11

Noah crusing past an abandoned building in Pyramiden with the town’s namesake peak in the background. Most of the buildings have been gutted for salvage value.

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: The town of Longyearbyen, the largest settlement on Svalbard and home to what is probably the farthest north commercial airport. This is where you fly into to begin the skiing adventure.

: Jermey Jones sorting gear in a hanger. 2011.

: Downtown Longyearbyen with a statue memorializing the town’s mining heritage. The town is named after an American, John Longyear, who owned the Arctic Coal Company.

: When camping on the ice or snow, it is possible to set up a bear perimeter trip wire around your camp.

: Noah lets his sled do a bit of free-doggin’ on a descent. This seemed like a good way to avoid getting clipped in the legs by the sled, but on a later attempt, my sled took off and was immediately out of sight and lost. Only then did it occur to me that it had everything I needed to survive in it. Luckily, we found it perfectly parked about a mile later.

: Yet another “Farthest North” landmark – the farthest north Lenin bust in Pyramiden.

: Noah in a keyhole with Pyramiden below. We were trying to find a way up to the summit and later found it around the backside.

: Probably the creepiest campsite I’ve ever had. This was in the town of Pyramiden next to the long abandoned swimming pool.

: A seal peeking through an ice hole. Photo by Keoki Flagg.

: A curious Arctic Fox in the midst of changing over from his/her white winter coat to a darker summer version.

: Noah crusing past an abandoned building in Pyramiden with the town’s namesake peak in the background. Most of the buildings have been gutted for salvage value.

: A reindeer cruising out in the open. Photo by Keoki Flagg.

: Within sight of Longyearbyen, our snowmobiles get bogged down in thin/soft ice and need to be hauled out.

: A momma walrus and her pups. Photo by Keoki Flagg.

: A momma walrus and her pups. Photo by Keoki Flagg.

: Noah Howell getting the shot on a rime covered sailboat.

: Fresh produce in unlikely places. Laura C. takes stock.

: Heading up from the sailboat.

: Doug Stoup packin’ heat and Scott Reynar (right) looking neat.

: Gear locker galore! The forward compartment of the Jonathan IV in full ski mode.

: Cool bands of lighting in Svalbard.

: A time-wasting trick from my days as a ski racing coach – balancing poles. In this case, the outboard motor was flooded, so we were in the “hurry up and wait” mode.